Archive for December, 2011

Gideon Haigh, in The Australian, 31 Decmeber 2011, where it had the title: “Year-long evolution of a tail”

EARLY on the final morning at the MCG on Thursday, a half-volley was stylishly despatched by a tall left-hander to the extra-cover boundary. A handsome stroke: long stride, full flow of the bat, flourishing follow-through. “Shot, Huss!” was one’s reflex response from a distance. Except that on a second look the cover drive’s author was not Mike Hussey but James Pattinson.

In the aftermath of victory here, Australia’s arrived-at pace triumvirate of Pattinson, Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus have basked in deserved praise. But the game also involved the continuation of a decidedly useful trend, a year in the making, of the Australian tail selling itself dearly. Read the rest of this entry ?

AP News Item, courtesy of The Australian, 31 December 2011, where it bore a different title

FOR the first time since Muttiah Muralidaran retired, Sri Lanka has finally won a Test. It did it convincingly, by more than 200 runs, and in a country where it had never won in the long format before. There’s life for Sri Lanka after the great man Murali. Thursday’s 208-run win was not just a breakthrough in South Africa, it was a turning point for Sri Lankan cricket after 18 months of misery. For 15 matches Sri Lanka foundered in Tests, going winless since record-breaking bowler Muralidaran said farewell to the five-day game with a 67th five-for haul in a 10-wicket victory over India in July last year. Read the rest of this entry ?

Michael Atherton, courtesy of The Times and The Weekend Australian 17-18 december 2011

GIVEN the scandals that have enveloped the game since the veil was lifted on the activities of several players during the 1990s, it is only natural that when the word “corruption” is uttered, attention falls on the cricketers themselves. Transparency International, an organisation committed to challenging corruption worldwide, made an important contribution to clearing up some of those misconceptions this week.

Cricket is not the kind of playing field that TI normally steps on to, but it was encouraged to do so partly by the wide-ranging nature of the consultation over the ICC’s governance review that closed last week. TI released a number of recommendations for the ICC to consider before the publication of the review, the most important of which was to remind people that on-field corruption is just a small part – albeit the most damaging part – of the temptations that envelop the game as a whole. Read the rest of this entry ?

“KFC T20 Big Bash League is the most talked about event in the country. Fans love their teams and families and kids of all ages pack grounds around the country. Dressed in their team’s colours, they come every week to watch the best T20 players on earth.” “The Vision” for the Big Bash League, Cricket Australia’s new-fashioned domestic T20 tournament which began at the SCG last night, reads like rather a lot to do with the BBL, as though composed in half a minute by someone carrying on two telephone conversations at the same time (“Mate, have you done that ‘Vision’ yet?” “Sorry mate, I’ve been flat out. I’ll bash some crap out now.”)

It does, though, encapsulate CA’s sky-high hopes for what in a cricket sense is really old fast food in a new wrapper: more or less the same players as in the old domestic T20 tournament spread a little more thinly among eight city-based rather than six state-based teams, albeit sprinkled, like Colonel Sanders’ herbs and spices, with New Improved Warnie. Read the rest of this entry ?

Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs Senator Kate Lundy today addressed the inaugural meeting of Cricket Australia’s (CA) Multicultural Cricket Reference Group (MCRG) in Melbourne. The MCRG will provide advice about meeting the diverse needs of Australia’s population as part of CA’s objective of ensuring cricket is a sport for all Australians. It includes prominent members of Australia’s multicultural communities as well as CA representatives.

Senator Lundy provided the MCRG with an insight into Federal Government multicultural policy recommendations and emphasised the deep alignment between sport and multicultural policy. MCRG member and CA General Manager Game Development Damien de Bohun said CA is committed to serving the diverse needs of Australia’s population. “Australia’s diversity is one of our country’s great strengths and our aim is to ensure that people from all communities have the opportunity to play cricket and enjoy its associated health and social benefits,” Mr de Bohun said. “The MCRG enables us to hear the voices of members of the communities we are dedicated to serving and this provides invaluable guidance for Cricket Australia as we continue our drive to ensure that cricket is a sport for all Australians.”